A Quiet Winter In Arizona, December 1, 2022 to February 15, 2023

 Piper continues to be a delightful addition to our family.

One day out walking, I saw this part of the fuselage of a plane in Phoenix.  Why it was here is unknown but it was apparently a Pakistani Airline plane that crashed a decade ago and was now here just down the street.

 

I continued to volunteer at the Desert Botanical Garden, where I saw plants, birds and interesting people - this couple were immigrants from Russia to Ukraine to Cleveland, Ohio.  They had just retired from working as musicians with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra.

 

 

A cute sign from a nearby restaurant caught my eye one day.

After Christmas, I made a quick trip to Flagstaff and discovered that our mailbox had been knocked over.  This was one of the simple repairs that needed to be completed.

 

 

We had new bathroom vanities installed in Phoenix, as well as mirrors and medicine chests. Next is new lights, and then we need to redo the toilets, bathtub and shower.

While Piper does tremble and pant incessantly in the car, she does like to go for a ride and to hike.

One day while Patty was taking a class at the Beatitudes, I took Piper for a walk and we went around the exterior of the entire campus.

Piper loves to try to find squirrels, mice, rabbits - any kind of small rodent.  She sometimes will try to dig in the holes in which the animal has fled.

January saw more than 60 inches of snow in Flagstaff.  When we would go for various reasons, we had to avoid going during a storm - but we still had to dig out the snow so we could get in.

Did I mention that I love going for walks with Piper?  She helps me get my 15,000 steps most days.

The Desert Botanical Garden hosted the "pop-up museum" called the Museum of the Moon in early February.  It was an accurate replica of the moon, some 23 feet in diameter.  I believe one inch equaled eight miles.  It was in Sunset Plaza at the Garden.  Patty and I had dinner at Gertrudes, then went to see the moon - it was about ten feet above the ground so you could walk under and around it and see the dark side of the moon.  I took this photo from about 100 yards away.  They also had telescopes set up so you could see the actual moon for comparison.

On February 10, Sharon organized a tour and six of us Tuesday DBG Docents visited the Japanese Peace Garden in downtown Phoenix and then went to lunch at a nearby sushi restaurant.

Patty and I visited Cave Creek Regional Park to confirm the details for taking a group of docents to hike out to the Michelin Man saguaro.  We will visit in March and then go out to lunch at a nearby restaurant.

 And so a quiet winter passes into Spring.